


L.O.V.E

by hannahmura



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Amity starts off kinda....eeeuuhhh, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captivity, F/F, Fluff, Human Amity Blight, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Better, Kidnapping, Mermaid Luz Noceda, Protective Amity Blight, Unethical Experimentation, my therapist knows what the owl house is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28485351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahmura/pseuds/hannahmura
Summary: As her mother leads her closer and closer to it she slowly makes out a silhouette lying in the large rectangular box. The dark figure becomes less blurry, and by the time Amity is about a metre away from the pool, her mouth is hanging wide open and eyes unblinking as she looks at the...creature in front of her.A round face, warm, golden brown skin, large chestnut eyes rimmed with long thick eyelashes, short dark hair floating around the water...that's not what shocks her so much. It's the shimmer of royal purple and blue on cheeks and shoulders, long blue ears that have three parts sticking out and webbed together- but the thing that really stands out is the massive freaking tail attached to the bottom half of the creatures body.What has she been forced into?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 152





	1. Chapter 1

Saying no isn't something Amity Blight finds easy. When she was younger she would certainly say it all the time. To classmates asking to borrow a pencil or her siblings attempting to drag her into their next scheme (although those invitations have drastically decreased through the years), if she didn't want to do something she would say so without hesitation, as is her right. 

Except when it came to her parents.

She could deny them and whine and say 'It's not fair!' all she wants but all she'd receive is an intense glare and a disappointed slow head shake from the two. No one can refuse Odalia and Alador Blight, their power and influence run too deep, even affecting their own children.

Which is why she's in this mess. 

Amity never wanted anything to do with her family's business. She doesn't want anything to do with them at all, which is exactly why she spends hours hunched over a desk studying until her spine feels like an elephant is sitting on it. Her goal is to get a good job and move out and life her own damn life, out of her parents shadows. And it's not as if the two care much about what she does or studies or what higher education she wants, the y usually stay out of her business so long as she isn't doing anything to sully the family's name and is doing well in school, as youngest she's not exactly high on their priority list, Edric and Emira are the ones who are pressured into inheriting the business, not her. So why does she have to deal with this? 

Again, Amity is mostly detached from what goes on in her parents work, though she was always aware that it wasn't always one hundred percent...ethical. Although their family line has been in charge of a pharmaceutical company for years, what exactly goes down in that basement built directly underneath their grand house isn't known to her, but more than a few times she has seen Emira comfort an upset Edric when he came from the basement, shaking and pale. She keeps her distance, never having been close to the twins in the first place. All she has to do is keep her head down and study hard and she'll be living away from all of it in just four years.

Except she can't detach herself from this situation. Her fathers large hand is like a shackle, tight on her wrist as she struggles to keep up with his long and fast strides, tripping over her feet and nearly falling before a tug on her arm brings her back upright. They walk in silence, the only noises being the sharp clacking of their shoes on the shiny grey granite floors- her mothers footsteps just behind them- and the pounding of her own heart in her eyes, beating furiously against her chest. The events that happened just a few moments ago flash before her eyes as they make their way down the tall and long corridors of their home. She was in her bedroom, minding her own business when her parents knocked on the heavy wood of her door before striding in, smug grins on their faces. Odalia asked the young girl if she would be interested in seeing something special, a secret. And of course, she couldn't say no. Even if she had she probably would've been dragged down anyways, so, there really was no way out. The unsettling smiles on their lips never left their faces once, and even now her fathers expression looks like one of pure joy. 

As the three round a corner and continue on their path Amity's stomach does a summersault when she finally realizes where exactly they are headed to. She briefly considers escaping before the thought sizzles out. It's not worth the consequences, and she'll have nowhere to go. There's a horrible sour feeling in the girls stomach and numb heaviness in her legs when they finally make it to a dimly lit corridor near the back of the house. Despite keeping her distance, even thinking of this particular hallway creeps her out- the uncertainty and mystery being enough to keep her well way...What could be down there that makes Edric lose all colour on his face and his fingers tremble? She never wanted to find out, and now she'll be forced to. She doesn't want anything to do with her parents and their creepy basement. 

At the very end of the hallway lies a door, different than the other fancy glass doors used throughout the rest of the house. This one is a dark grey, the shine and texture on it telling her it may be made of a metal of sorts. Next to it is a digital keypad, which Alador interacts with using his hand that isn't currently grasping Amity's wrist (and cutting off the blood circulation), typing in a long pin. A flash of green lights up at the top of the keypad and a high pitched noise fills the hallway before a clicking noise comes from the door. They enter through the door, and the slam of it shutting feels like a death sentence. Her senses are suddenly assaulted with a sharp, citrus scent, like bleach and antiseptic as they walk down pristine white stairs, lots of them. When they reach the end of them she looks around her surroundings, taking in standing the small rectangular room. The walls are made out of gleaming metal and floors covered in white ceramic tile, a harsh, bright light illuminating the place. There are three other doors, one in front of her and one on her left and right, all three also have keypads.

"Hurry along now dear, we're just there." Odalia's says, her thin red painted lips still stretched into that sinister grin, looking even more crazed with the bright light making her vivid yellow irises look nearly invisible, the pupil standing out sharply. The fine hair on the back of Amity's neck stand up at the sight. 

Amity doesn't want to. She doesn't like this, she's never liked anything she doesn't fully understand. She thought she made it clear that she just wants to be left and alone until graduation, and her parents understood that. A part of her hopes that this'll be a one off thing...but why? Why bring her here only once, when Emira and Edric have gone down quite a few times. After finding a corner of peace and normalcy in her life this is what she gets, dragged into whatever operations her parents are doing in this eerie basement all because she can't refuse her parents in fear for the consequences. 

As Alador types in the code for the keypad for the door on the right, Amity's thoughts go round and round- until her father releases his hand from her arm and her mother places her own on her shoulder, pushing her into the room. 

Not knowing what to expect and braced for the worst, she's surprised to find out that the door opened up for...a lab? Confusion fills her, and she raises an eyebrow as her attention zeroes onto a large tank right at the back of the massive room. It's lit up, standing out in the mostly dim room, and as her mother leads her closer and closer to it she slowly makes out a silhouette lying in the large rectangular box. The dark figure becomes less blurry, and by the time Amity is about a metre away from the pool, her mouth is hanging wide open and eyes unblinking as she looks at the...creature in front of her. 

A round face, warm, golden brown skin, large chestnut eyes rimmed with long thick eyelashes, short dark hair floating around the water...that's not what shocks her so much. It's the shimmer of royal purple and blue on cheeks and shoulders, long blue ears that have three parts sticking out and webbed together- but the thing that really stands out is the massive freaking tail attached to the bottom half of the creatures body. The tail itself is long, wide and flares out at the end, the fins wispy at the end and almost translucent. It looks iridescent, dark purple flashing a gorgeous azure blue in another angle, scales shimmering and glittering. Amity redirects her eyes to the entities face, only to meet angry eyes and furrowed brows. It quickly moves away, to the very back of the large tank and wraps its arms around itself, still glaring up a storm from behind the glass. Amity slowly backs away before both of her shoulders are caught and she's forced to stop. She feels her mothers long sharp nails dig in through the fabric of her cardigan. 

Alador chuckles darkly, brown eyes narrowed and watching the sea creature with a fascinated look. "Isn't it magnificent, Amity? It put up a good fight at first, but at last, it is finally in our grasp." He clasps his hands together in front of him and turns his head round towards Amity and raises an eyebrow, obviously amused by his daughter's expression. 

"Wh-What is it?" The stunned girl asks breathlessly. She forces herself to blink and snaps her gaping mouth shut, sore from having it wide in shock. "How can you- where did you-" 

"A mermaid," Odalia says, still holding onto her. Her voice is sweet and happy, staring into the water tank and eyes fixated on the living creature residing in it. Just as intense as her husbands. "Truly incredible. A creature only your wildest dreams can conjure up. And it's all ours." 

Amity is truly speechless, still trying to wrap her head around this. The fact that there's a mystical, supernatural being right in front of her. A majestic creature, a mermaid. One million and one questions bounce around her head, but she settles on just one to ask her parents. 

"What are you going to do to it?" 

Her fathers smug expression drops slowly, and his thick dark eyebrows knit together. "That's nothing to worry your little head about. We don't want you do involve yourself deep into our craft...just to watch over the specimen, familiarize yourself with it." He smiles as Amity's stomach drops for about the fiftieth time this evening. The longer this event has been happening the worse she feels. 

"B-But I-" She tries to explain that she doesn't want to, damn it. 'Familiarize' herself with it for what? This entire situation is a massive mess, where did the two even find the mermaid in the first place...and why won't they tell her what exactly they want it for! The one time she actually wants to know what her parents get up to down here… "I don't understand, why me? Why not Edric, or Emira? Or- or-" Her voice trails off feebly. 

"We chose you specifically, Amity dearest, because, well, we were worried about you," Odalia used her grasp on her daughter to turn her around and face her, a mask of sadness and anguish stuck to her face. Her eyebrows are upturned and her lips are pouting ever so slightly. "Just imagining our little daughter, stuck in that room of yours, studying until dawn, so desperate to get away from us...it breaks our heart my sweet. We thought being in such proximity with such a marvellous creature would encourage you to want to stay with us!" The woman wraps up her little explanation by turning Amity back around, once again pushing her by her arms and manipulating her into walking up the set of stairs beside the large fish tank that leads up to the top. Amity stumbled, looking back behind her and at her mother with fear filled in her amber eyes. It feels as if she's felt the entire spectrum of human emotion tonight. Odalia just ignores the pitiful look and smirks, leading the girl in her arms up. 

Once they're onto up and on the large platform, standing beside the top of the tank and hovering above the deep pool of water, the older woman finally takes her daughter's fear into consideration. 

"Amity dearest, we are just looking out for you. Your father and I thought you would be jumping with joy at being able to care for such a creature. Were we wrong?" 

Amity slowly shakes her head, short mint green hair brushing her cheeks. "I...I really appreciate it, mother, but I couldn't possibly-" 

"Nonsense! You haven't even met the creature yet!" Crouching down, she harshly knocked on the glass of the tank facing the stairs, her caring look quickly getting replaced by a stern and serious one. Amity can see the mermaid flinch violently because the loud noise from where it was curled in the far corner from her birdseye view of the tank. Odalia refaces her child, and Amity takes a few clumsy steps backwards, the strange shadows from the lighting in the tank making her mothers face look ominous, with the eerie effect worsening as her lips pull back into that same self-satisfied smile she and her father have been wearing all night. Seriously, what is up with these crazy looks? She's never seen her parents like this before. "The poor dear is quite shy i'm afraid, it's only been here a few days after all. There is no need to fear, though, it won't bite!...unless it decides to misbehave." The last part was spat out with so much malice and hostility that Amity does a double take, unused to Odalia outwardly showing her mean streak like that. Usually she's more subtle. The creature slowly swimming it's way towards Odalia seems to agree as it stops swimming all together and curls back into itself in fear.

"Well, hurry up! I don't have all day!" Alador chuckles lightly at how fast the mermaid obeyed the yelled command, flinching before moving to the side where Amity and her mother were standing. It breaks through the water and clutches onto the edges of the platform, looking up at the two humans with fear in it's deep coffee brown eyes. Amity notices other tiny details about the mermaid...like how it's fingers are webbed together and finger nails are long and sharp, also an iridescent purple and blue, just like its tail and shimmering cheeks, at the top before they fade back into the rich brown of the creatures skin. It's wearing a silky light purple top that ends a few centimetres before its skin blends into its skin. The sleeves are short and flutterly, and made out of a nearly translucent material, only a hint of purple pigment showing. The bottom of the top is shredded and torn in some places, probably from the 'good fight' Alador talked about earlier. It looks...young. Maybe even Amity's age, and the thought makes her uncomfortable. Doesn't this thing have a family? This is such a mess.

Odalia reaches down and tangles her hand in the mermaid's short wet locks, tugging it's face closer with the grasp she has on it. Amity can see some delicate strands get caught up in the crystals on Odalia's ring, probably causing more sharp pain to its scalp. The creature grimaces at the tug and bites its lip with its slightly sharp teeth but otherwise remains silent, staring up with wide scared eyes. Amity on the other hand gasps at the cruel action, whipping her head towards her father in shock who is watching the whole scene unfold with amusement from his place on the ground. 

"Learning your place already? I'm very proud," The older woman croons. "I want you to meet someone, someone I very much hope you'll get along with." She tugs the creature's hair so its neck is twisted and face turned towards Amity. "Say hello to my dear daughter Amity."

The mermaid's large eyes dart all across Amity's face and body, as if it can't decide where to keep its gaze. It settles on staring at the brown buttons on Amity's light pink cardigan and it gives her a short sharp nod. Amity awkwardly nods back, still not properly processing any of this. She cannot believe mermaids exist, and if they exist then what other supernatural creatures exist? Have there been other mermaids caught like this, hidden away forever and never being known to the public? Does it have a name? Can it even speak English, or any other human language? It can clearly understand English just fine, after obeying Odalias orders, so it should be able to speak. If so, then why not greet her verbally? 

Amity redirects her attention to her mother. "How can I look after it if I don't know what you want to use it for? And also how am I meant to look after it?!" She immediately regrets raising her voice, but the panic and confusion was seriously getting to her. Before her mother can scold her she continues, "I-I just...I'm confused and-and this is all so new. I mean, how does anyone look after a mermaid? Never mind me, a kid." She puts on a vulnerable expression and upturns her eyebrows, hoping Odalia will soften. By the way the woman's eyes soften Amity knows she's succeeded.

"Dear, you shouldn't doubt yourself, you are a highly intelligent child and we have much faith in you. Of course we'll be there to guide you and help you. Although not much is known about these creatures, your father and I have collected DNA from the specimen and after running many tests have concluded that anything lethal to us humans will also negatively affect the mermaid. That means all you have to worry about is keeping it safe away from anything deadly, feeding it, keeping it and its living quarters sanitized and reporting to us any behavioural patterns you have noticed. You needn't worry your little head about harming it or doing anything wrong." 

That's...not exactly what Amity was worried about, but at least at least she got a tiny bit more of information. Odalia grasps Amity's hand and leads her back down the concrete stairs and to where her father is still standing in front of the aquarium. The mermaid slowly backs away and swims back to the corner at the far end. 

"Tomorrow we will hand you a list of all your tasks, rules and responsibilities, if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask us. Your siblings have also been made aware of the creature and it's residence here, but worry not, they won't get in the way." Her father says, leading the group back to the exit and inserting the pin. As they walk up the stairs and make it up the top, going through the last door and into the hallway he suddenly grabs Amity's wrist and squeezes harshly. The girl whips her head upwards in fear. "And just remember, Amity dearest, if you say a single word of this to anyone, there will be dire consequences. Just keep your mouth shut and everything will be okay. Do you understand?"

Startled and afraid, Amity stays silent and weakly tugs her wrist back, failing to escape the iron grip. 

"I said, do you understand?" He growls lowly. 

She nods up and down, wanting to get out of this situation desperately. "Y-yes, I understand, I completely understand."

Her father releases his hand and smiles pleasantly. "Good."


	2. Chapter 2

True to his word, when the next day arrives and Amity comes back home from school Alador hands his daughter a pile of papers stapled together at the corner and a copy of the documents. Amity stores the copy in the drawer attached to her wooden desk and follows her father down to the basement while flipping through the booklet. The very top of the first page states the pin for the two doors, and immediately underneath a warning of what might happen if anyone outside the household gains a hold of it. Classic.

The documents really don't tell her much, and honestly leave her with more questions than she had before reading, the biggest pieces of information being that the mermaid eats any sort of raw fish and edible sea plants and that the salt water in its tank will need replacing every two days. What Amity really wants to know is how is she meant to communicate with the mermaid? How long will the mermaid be downstairs and in her care for? How will staying in a tank for weeks or maybe months affect it physically and mentally, and do her parents even care? But of course they won't answer any of that, because that would mean that they'd actually be helpful for once, and we can't have that. 

She's aware that the mermaid has only been with them for a few days and not enough is known about it, in fact it's her job to collect more data and information, but that's not going to stop her from being bitter and complaining just for the sake of complaining. 

"I will be expecting you to add any other information and details you gain to the document at the end of each visit, the link has been sent to your email. For the first few days I will be supervising you and showing you the ropes, just on the surface stuff such as feeding and safety for both you and the specimen." Alador says from where he's standing in front of a steel shelf settled at the side of the room with a paper binder in his hands, glancing at the mermaid who is sitting with its arms wrapped around itself in the corner of the tank, just like when Amity first saw it. 

Yesterday Amity didn't have the chance to soak in the whole room, she was too busy finding out that mythical creatures exist and being given one as some dark and twisted pet by her crazy parents, so she takes the chance to look around at her surroundings. Unlike last time the large commercial lights are on, and although the room is large it's quite bare. A few shelves, steel tables with papers scattered and metal and cardboard boxes on them, a commercial refrigerator, an industrial sink unit, metal cabinets…it's not very pleasant scenery. She walks up to one of the tables and peers into a small shallow metal box with its lid wide open, surprised to see a small pile of jewelry inside. There are two bronze arm cuffs with an intricate design where the pieces extend outwards , delicate and beautiful. She notices a pair of plain black round stud earrings and a long string of shining pearls and- wow, she doesn't know much about jewelry but she's about ninety percent certain that those are real pearls. At the bottom of the box she sees a long, thin silver chain and carefully picks it up, curiosity getting the better of her. It's a simple necklace, with a silver charm shaped like a diamond, the edges soft and smooth. There's a triangle at the top, with tiny other symmetrical details and curves carved into it. It kind of looks like…

"An owl?" Her words grab the attention of the mermaid who whips its head around to where Amity's standing, alert and focused. Its eyes are zeroed on the necklace in her hand and Amity flushes red in embarrassment, feeling as if she just got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. Her father doesn't seem to mind though, and approaches her with a smile on his face. 

"Ah, yes. The jewellery the creature was wearing when it was first caught. I wonder if owls hold some sort of significance to it. It's very odd for an underwater creature to be wearing a charm of a bird of prey." He chuckles as if he's told a particularly funny joke, and just like that Amity has lost interest in the conversation. 

The mermaid slumps its shoulders down and pouts when Alador closes the jewelry box and flicks the lock. He peers at the clock on the wall, furrows his thick eyebrows and places a hand on his chin. "It has been five hours since the specimen has last eaten, I was thinking of spacing its meals out like you would with a human and see how it responds, if its health worsens, betters or remains the same. There's no way to figure out what eating pattern is best so you'll have to keep an eye out for any changes in energy and attitude, along with the blood tests I'll be running." 

Checking any 'energy changes' will be pretty hard when the thing stays in the one place at the far corner all the time and is confined in a tank far smaller than any actual ocean, but Amity doesn't mention any of that and just nods. She's too nervous to ask how long she'll have to look after the mermaid and what exactly the end goal is here- and she's not really in the mood for another speech about how sad her parents are about how bad she wants to leave this house. 

Amity is fully aware that the way her parents treat their children isn't normal. Abuse is something that's always been part of her life, and still something she doesn't want to ever address or talk about properly. Just the word 'abuse' makes her cringe, it's uncomfortable and awkward, and it's not as if her parents ever beat her or anything. 'It could be worse' has been her motto for years, and besides, she was only four years away from getting away from it all, but now that dream seems so far away because she's been forced to look after a mythical being. 

It's cruel and selfish to blame the mermaid for this situation when it's clearly the victim, and an ugly feeling fills Amity, shame and regret mixing in her. Her father resuming his talk shakes Amity out of her inner monologue. 

"Let me demonstrate how you should feed it just this once, and from then on you'll be in charge of it," Alador strides to the left of the room and sanitizes his hands with the gel dispenser on one of the tables, also snapping on a pair of disposable gloves and tying a plastic apron around him. He pulls out a tin tray and a pair of tongs from one of the cabinets before heading to the fridge and piling the tray with fresh fish and pieces of sea plants. "Follow me, dear."

Amity obeys her father, trailing after him and heading to the stairs next to the tank, walking up and onto the platform. Alador snaps his fingers, gaining the attention of the mermaid. 

When the mermaid is in front of them Alador bends his long legs and crouches down. Slowly trailing a gloved finger down the creature's wet cheek, he tucks a clump of damp short hair behind its ear and whispers, "Open up, little one." Somehow this is even worse than the stunt Odalia pulled yesterday. Second hand embarrassment fills Amity as she watches the creature open up its mouth, humiliation clear on its face. It slowly chews the fish being fed to it from the tongs with a dark blush on its cheeks, and Amity wants nothing more than to vanish forever. The scene in front of her reminds her of an adult spoon feeding a baby...or an owner with an animal, and, well, that pretty much is the dynamic between the two. Why couldn't he have just placed the tray down and let the mermaid help itself? And also kept his hands to himself? Jesus.

Highly uncomfortable, Amity shifts from foot to foot awkwardly, hanging her head down and staring at the concrete platform as if it holds the world's secrets, and trying her hardest to block out the chewing noises and clanking of metal echoing in the room. 

After that whole debacle is done with and the mermaid has retreated back to its hiding place, Alador leads Amity back down and cleans the tray and tongs in the sink, drying them and placing it back in the cabinet.

How her father can act completely normal after doing something so creepy in front of his daughter seriously disturbs her.

"I know this may seem very boring and uneventful right now, but soon enough you'll be spending time with the mermaid alone and bonding with it! I have lots of faith in you, Amity." Alador grins, optimistic as always. Amity wonders how effective this plan is when the mermaid in question is in the same room as them and hearing all of this. Although it was obedient with Alador and Odalia (Amity doesn't want to think too hard on why that is), there's always a chance of it deciding to be stubborn with Amity and wont allow her to gain new info on it and its species. Amity wouldn't blame it, if she was a kidnapped mermaid she certainly wouldn't give any of her secrets up to her captors. But hey, what does she know? 

"Yes, father." Amity looks back at the sea creature in the tank, who looks truly miserable. She may not know what exactly her parents are planning, but she does know that this arrangement will benefit no one but them. 

\----

Being back in the safety of her own room and doing her homework after watching the bizarre powerplay feeding between her father and the mermaid feels a little strange, but she's certainly not complaining. A sense of normality among all the chaos in her life is desperately needed, and going to school during the day also helped. 

Having no control in her life is something she thought she would always be used to, but after being left to her own devices for so long suddenly having her parents back in her shadow again makes her feel a little sick, so the fact that she can still be in control of this one part of her life, her studies and school, is a massive comfort. 

In just two days so many uncertainties and unknowns have appeared and plagued Amity and her life, but at least she can rely on the objective fact of maths, and the whimsical world of fiction. 

\----

The next day that rolls around is a Saturday, which means that Odalia and Alador are out and in their office, taking care of their business. Before leaving the house Amity's father reminded the girl to tend to her duties downstairs, and to consult the papers for specific instructions. 

After freshening up and eating breakfast Amity makes her way downstairs, clutching her papers in her hands. The hallway the door to the basement lies in still gives her chills, but a lot of the fear has mostly disappeared. What she's really curious about are the other two doors that greet her when she gets to the bottom of the staircase. Since the mermaid has only been under the house for a short while it can't possibly be the reason why Edric and Emira have come back up from here so horrified...so whatever scares them so must be lying behind one of those doors. She briefly thinks about using the pin she has been given on one of the other doors, but panic grips her and prevents her from trying such a thing. Being nosy never ended well, and if her parents ever find out…

She hastily punches in the code on the keypad that leads to the mermaid and swings the door open, walking to the tank quickly, trying to dispel the fear from her body. She has an itching need to apologise to her parents for even thinking of disobeying them, for God's sake. 

"Hey, mittens has arrived!"

Amity physically jumps in shock at the yell, instantly recognizing the corny nickname and scowling. "You scared me!" She walks closer to the tank, recognizing the shape of her older brother and sister. 

Emira is sitting on the platform above the tank with her legs sticking out, her leggings rolled up and bare feet resting in the water, slightly swinging back and forth. Edric is perched on the top stair, arm resting casually on the ledge and grinning cheekily down at Amity. She's surprised to see the mermaid next to Emira, arms resting on the platform and a sweet smile on its face. When the mermaid's expression neutralizes after facing Amity she suddenly feels self-conscious, as if she's intruding. Actually, she definitely is intruding. 

"Sorry baby sis," Emira coos, sounding very far from apologetic. "We were just hanging out with the little mermaid over here." She winks at the mermaid and boops its nose, giggling when it smiles coyly and blushes in response. 

Amity stares wide eyed at the mermaid, unused to seeing it show any positive emotion. "You- you two can't be here!" 

Edric tilts his head to the side. "And why not?" He asks innocently.

"W-well...because, uhm," Amity doesn't know how to answer that, she has no right to decide who the mermaid hangs out with. She just doesn't want to deal with her annoying siblings. Edric and Emira are white noise in the background of her life on good days and nuisances on most days.

"Lighten up mittens," Emira teases, "Father gave us access here just in case you need some help with her."

'Her'?

Oh, right. The mermaid.

"Well, I won't ever need any help, so you guys can leave," Amity says confidently, even though she feels far from it (for once). She's always had a bad habit of turning nearly every single thing into a competition, now including looking after mermaids. Maybe she should work on that…"And it's feeding time too."

Emira leans back on her hands and swings her legs in the water faster. "Don't let us stop you, then." The mermaid smiles up at her and moves back slightly.

Amity sighs heavily at her sister's stubbornness, but moves on and decides to focus on the task at hand. It's hard to ignore the mischievous whispering and giggling behind her, (even harder to ignore the fact that the mermaids laugh sounds like a melodic song) and she feels incredibly self-conscious while going through the motions, but she eventually weighs the correct amount of fish and places the pieces on a tray, walks up the stairs and lays the tray on the ground in front of the mermaid. She watches in fascination as the shimmer of color on its cheekbones shine blue when the light hits it. It's round cheeks puff out while chewing and its tail swishes languidly in the water. Amity's never seen it looks so relaxed before, though that most definitely has everything to do with the fact that her parents aren't here, and how Emira and Edric easily make friends, mute mythical creatures being no exception apparently.

Amity would rather dunk her face in boiling lava than admit out loud that she's envious of their social abilities. 

Realising she's been staring at the mermaid for an abnormal amount of time, Amity's entire face flushes scarlet when it catches her eye and tilts its head, a small smile on its face. She hastily collects the tray and abruptly stands up, tripping on her own legs and nearly falling into the water tank before Emira gasped and grasped her hand, pulling her back.

"Be careful!" She chides. "Where's the fire, mittens?" 

"Nowhere! Nothing! Leave me alone!" Amity spits out and wrenches her hand out of her sisters. After quickly cleaning up she taps in the pin for the door, escaping the lab and sprinting up the stairs, cursing when she still feels heat in her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have so much cute lumity stuff planned out omg when are they gonna talk properly - i ask even though i know damn well when


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days blend together and pass in a blur. After assisting Amity with her responsibilities and duty to the mermaid for a while her parents have gone back to giving her space and letting her do her own thing (a kinder way of saying they’re ignoring her), so she spends most of the time studying and going to supported study after school. She’s even considering rejoining the school’s football team, just to keep herself more occupied. Besides feeding it and filtering it’s tank Amity doesn't spend much time with the mermaid, and although she felt a little guilty for neglecting it at first she discovers that Edric and Emira have been spending a tonne of time with it and probably have been keeping it entertained. What exactly the trio get up to down there she doesn't know, and admittedly she does not care to know. It’s kind of miraculous how she’s settled into a semi-normal routine after being given a pet mermaid, but Amity is determined to hold on to it for as long as possible, at least until she knows how long she’s forced to stay in this miserable house.

Which of course means that the complete opposite will happen, because Amity can’t have nice things.

She picks up the metal tray after the mermaid has finished eating and turns around, ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a full nine hours- she stays up until midnight, hunched over her desk but after the garbage week she’s had figures she deserves to rest properly. As she turns around a wet, cold hand clamps over her ankle. The touch nearly scares her out of her skin, and she whips her head down to where the mermaid is holding onto her with a shy expression on its face. Amity raises her eyebrow in question and watches as the mermaid releases its hand and fidgets with the rim of the tank. 

Amity sighs heavily and turns her body to fully face the creature. “Yes?” She asks. Witnessing the creature actually interact and try to communicate with her for the first time is definitely surprising, but she’s mostly desensitized to this now. Maybe if she was eight years younger she’d be more interested. 

The mermaid looks up at her with wide, worried eyes. It gestures to its neck, stretching its hands across each side before shrugging its shoulders and looking at Amity questioningly.  
Amity resists the urge to facepalm and instead furrows her brows and tilts her head to the side in confusion. The creature seems to be just as impatient as her, as it rolls its eyes and repeats the neck motion multiple times and puts a pleading look on its face. Hunching her shoulders and shaking her head, Amity sighs again.

“I have no idea what you are trying to say,” Amity wonders what kind of entertainment value her siblings get from hanging out with a mermaid who can’t even talk back and converse properly. 

Huffing and rolling its eyes again, the mermaid beckons Amity with its hands. She hesitantly leans down, curious and confused. The mermaid waves its hands faster, clearly not satisfied with her distance, and Amity obliges until she’s kneeling on the ground and face to face with the mermaid. Once she’s close enough the mermaid places both of its hands on Amity’s cheeks, pulls her forward, and places its lips on her own. Her eyes widen at the soft brush of lips and her hands hover and twitch in the air, completely lost on what to do as she gets smooched.

“Wh-what-” 

As the mermaid leans back and away from Amity a bright light shines and glows near its throat, temporarily blinding Amity as she scrunches her eyes shut, shielding her face with her arms until the light subsides. After a few seconds she slowly opens her eyes and watches as the creature in front of her lightly touches its neck, its eyes wide. It clears its throat and gasps, a grin stretching across its face. 

“Woah! I didn’t think that would actually work!” It exclaims, beaming in joy while Amity is still gaping like an idiot, feeling as if she just got slapped in the face with a dozen pieces of new information. Because she just did.

“H-huh?” Amity stutters, puzzled and quite frankly freaked out. So much for being ‘desensitized’...how many times is she going to be in the centre of life changing events before she stops reacting so strongly?

The mermaid smiles sheepishly and everts its eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. Not being able to talk was driving me insane,” It laughs and shrugs, as if saying ‘what can you do?’

“Don’t worry about it…” Amity says faintly, still at a loss for words. Like, really? Kissing gave it the ability to speak? How very Disney. 

“Oh!” The creature moves closer to Amity and peers at her. “Actually, I-I wanted to ask you something.” It says, clearly nervous. Complete opposite of the unbridled joy it was radiating just two seconds ago. 

As the shock of having her first kiss with a mythical creature wears off Amity pulls herself together and stands up, patting her knees and waving away any dust clinging on her. She smooths her hair and takes a deep breath before crossing her arms and staring down at the mermaid. “Yes? What is it?” As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, the mermaids capability to talk now definitely changes things. This new development makes things seem more...real. And serious. Damn it. Couldn’t it have kissed Emira or Edric instead? It still would’ve been a shocker to hear it talk out of nowhere but at least she wouldn’t be the one to witness it for the first time. There’s also the matter of telling Alador and Odalia and what it means for whatever their plans are with the mermaid.

“Well, uhm. Do you remember that silver necklace? The one with the little owl on it?” It asks. “A while ago you were looking at it, with your dad, and when I woke up the next day the little box it was in was gone, a-and, uhm…” It trails off awkwardly.

“Oh, right,” She does indeed remember the necklace, though she hasn’t given it a single thought since she first saw it. The little neck gesture the mermaid was doing earlier must’ve been about the jewelry. “Yeah, I remember. Why?”

The mermaid perks up at that. “You do? Can I have it back?” It pauses just before adding, “Please?”

“Sorry, I don’t know where it is. My father probably locked it away somewhere,” Amity shrugs, not at all concerned, and immediately turns around, fully prepared to leave and go back upstairs before she’s stopped by the mermaid once again grasping her ankle. 

Alright, she’s starting to get a little annoyed now.

“What.” She grits out.

Probably sensing her waning patience, the creature lets go and swims back, putting some distance between them. “Sorry, just-” It wrings its hands together, “Can’t you- can’t you find it? Find where it’s locked away, or wherever?”

Amity takes a moment to take in the mermaid, and how desperate it is. That necklace very obviously means a lot to it...and Amity really just wants to rest upstairs, so she nods and agrees. 

“Uhuh, yeah, sure. I will.” She says.

It smiles brightly in delight and looks up at Amity with twinkling brown eyes, and Amity nearly feels bad for not caring all that much. “Really?! Thank you!” It gives her one last smile, showcasing its slightly pointy teeth.

“No problem,” Amity makes her way down the stairs and sterilizes the tray, relieved about being able to leave. 

She never promised she’d return the necklace in the immediate future, so she’s not very worried about agreeing to find it. Tomorrow she will look around the lab and see if the box was put away on one of the shelves, and if it isn’t she’ll just tell the mermaid she’ll ask her father. Whether or not she actually will ask she doesn’t know. While Amity herself is apathetic towards the creature, her indifference towards it isn't as bad as what Alador and Odalia are capable of. She knows just how cruel both her parents can be, has experienced it first hand; hell, she’s even seen Alador be creepy and gross with the mermaid not too long ago. They literally captured a mermaid and forced it to be their daughters pet! To call her parents Satans spawn is an insult to Satan. 

Discovering the mermaid can talk after kissing someone has to be a massive breakthrough, far bigger than all the half-assed recaps Amity was typing up on that document...so it’ll be best to keep this a secret. It doesn’t take a saint to realize that animal experimentation is vile and inhumane, or a genius to know that such torture hurts an animal beyond healing and kills them, and she doesn’t think her parents are above it. She doesn’t know how long the mermaid will be her responsibility, and she may be upset about her plans for the future being ruined, but that doesn’t mean she wants an innocent creature to be badly harmed by her parents.


	4. Chapter 4

Never say that Amity doesn’t care, because she really did try to find the box the necklace was in. The boxes on the shelves were either too large to be the one she remembered the mermaid's jewellery was in, or had no lock and was filled with papers or stray pieces of technology and tools, while she specifically remembered that the box she was looking for had a lock. Thinking back now, even if she did find the box in the lab, what the hell was she meant to do if it was locked? Google how to pick locks? Though, she wouldn’t be surprised if Emira or Edric knew how to pick locks…

“Are-are you sure? Can you check again? It has to be here,” The mermaid says desperately from where it’s peeking over the rim of the tank. 

“Really? I’ve looked through every box, like, five times!” Amity grumbles. After she decided to take a risk and not tell her parents about the mermaid being able to talk she really thought she was developing as a person, but rifling through every box in this crappy room is really testing her. “Why do you even care about it this much? I’m sure you have bigger issues to worry about.” A low blow, but damn, Amity is getting inpatient. This is probably why she doesn’t have any friends.

The mermaid flinches back and wraps its arms around itself, looking away sadly. 

Amity takes a deep breath and tries to regain herself. “Sorry, I shouldn't have said that,” She places the box she’s holding back onto the shelf and approaches the tank, looking up at the mermaid. “I’ll ask my father about it, alright? Don’t look so upset.” 

Except she won't, because if she does Alador will most likely find her sudden interest in mermaid jewellery suspicious, or worse, actually think that she’s interested in looking after the mermaid and wants anything to do with their business. There’s a slim chance he’d hand it over without any questions and hassle, but this is Alador we’re talking about. Of course he’s going to ask questions. If she somehow does find out where the necklace is and steals it they’ll probably notice its absence and get her in trouble...and she never gets in trouble. Her parents finding about the mermaid speaking would also be a massive problem, and the exact opposite thing she wants. She shudders as she imagines a faceless figure dressed in a white doctor's coat leaning over the mermaid, slowly lowering a sharp scalpel towards its neck. 

Yeah, no. Amity may not be the kindest, but she’s not completely heartless. And simply keeping things a secret from her parents isn’t as egregious as denying them anything or stealing from them.

She also feels bad for lying to the mermaid about something so precious to it, but really, it’s for the best. 

“It’s just...that necklace is really important to me, so,” The mermaid hunches its shoulders and sighs. “If i'm gonna be stuck here all alone, I at least want some comfort.”

“‘Alone’? Haven’t you been hanging out with Edric and Emira?”

"Oh, yeah, they’re cool and all, but a few hours with them isn't really the same as being with my family and friends at my home in the ocean, you know?”

Amity immediately feels stupid for asking that, and just knows her face is turning bright red in embarrassment. “Oh, yeah, of course...I don’t know what I was thinking,” Yeah, this is why she doesn’t have any friends. Her social skills are abysmal. 

The two stay in an awkward silence for a moment, the mermaid languidly moving its shimmering purple tail in the water and staring off to the distance. Amity takes that as her cue to finally feed the mermaid it's lunch, and begins to put on disposable gloves and open the large industry fridge, looking at whatever type of fish is available today. 

“Huh, tuna today. Never seen that before,” Amity says sarcastically, completely unimpressed with the scant options. With all that talk about health and blood tests and whatnot, her parents really are not putting in any effort to keep the mermaids diet interesting and diverse. 

The mermaid giggles in response, completely surprising Amity. She whips her head around, looking at where the mermaid is smiling softly at her with awe. Just when her face is finally cooled down it suddenly catches on fire again as she blushes from the attention. Quickly piling the fish and pieces of kelp on the serving tray, she walks up to the tank, up the stairs and places the tray on the platform in front of the tank, watching as the mermaid swims towards it. 

“Hey, uhm-” The mermaid glances at Amity while it’s chewing on a slice of tuna, and she hesitates before continuing. “I feel the need to ask if you actually enjoy eating nothing but fish and kelp.” Her parents haven’t even bothered to give any other sea vegetables or anything, and she can’t imagine all that fish is good for anything at least a quarter human.

After swallowing it’s mouthful of tuna the mermaid shifts its body towards Amity. “I don't mind it that much. A merperson can survive on just fish alone just fine, but we like to eat seaweed and vegetables too. Though it's fun to try new things." 

"Yeah? Like what?" Amity asks, sitting down on the platform.

"Hehe, well, one day I was messing around offshore and saw these," The mermaid makes a circle shape in the air with its finger, "round orange things. I've only ever seen them hanging up above, so when they fell on the land I was really curious."

"So...you decided to eat it?" She asks, amused that the mermaid would put an unknown object in it's mouth without even being sure if it's edible or not. 

"Yep! It was so good, and totally unique. I've never tasted anything like it before," The mermaid sighs happily, remembering the memory fondly. "The little white flowers on them were super pretty too."

"Hm. You're talking about oranges, right?" Round, orange, grew on a tree, white flowers, what else could it be talking about?

"Huh? Yeah, I just told you they were orange," It says while tilting its head in confusion.

"Uhuh, but they're called oranges too," Amity explains. "They grow on trees and bushes, and it's best to plant them during spring." 

"Trees?" The mermaid perks up, hooked on Amity's every word.

"Those are the things you saw the oranges hang off of," She clarifies. She makes an up and down gesture with her hands, attempting to mime the shape of a tree trunk. "There are all sorts of trees, and they all grow in different conditions. A lot of them grow stuff like fruit, which is what you saw." 

"Oh, right!" It says excitedly, and Amity finds its enthusiasm refreshing. This may be the most positive conversation she's had with someone in a while, and isn't that depressing to admit. "Yeah, there was a tonne of those everywhere...and some had different looking things hanging off them, but they were too far away to investigate." The mermaid says dejectedly.

"Well...what if I brought you some?" Amity asks before thinking over her words properly. "Different kinds of food, including oranges."

"Really? You-you'd do that?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't." 

The mermaid looks up at her with a worried expression. "What about your parents?"

"They don't need to know," Amity shrugs. She suddenly remembers her plan and changes her demeanor to a serious one. "Oh, and- make sure you don't tell them you can speak." She doesn’t know how often her parents come down to visit the mermaid, but there’s no point in her plan if the mermaid just talks to them anyways.

Amity doesn't plan on telling her parents about anything she just learned there, not that knowing merpeople can indeed live on a fish only diet is interesting in the slightest, but the thought of telling Alador and Odalia anything new she learns about the mermaid makes her uncomfortable, especially since she just recently promised herself she wouldn't tell them it could speak. If she's gonna sneak around and keep secrets she may as well commit to it, right?

Also, she has too much pride to tell her parents anything that could imply that she actually cares about the responsibilities they forced on her, even if her initial indifference towards the mermaid has changed. 

"Huh? Why not?"

"I don't think it would be wise to tell your captors that you can talk after kissing someone." Amity deadpans. "And especially not people like my parents…"

"Oh, yeah. Of course." The mermaid laughs awkwardly. “What about Emira and Edric?”

“Sure, just remind them not to tell,” Emira and Edric are masters of going behind their parents back and keeping secrets, so she isn’t worried about them at all for once. She is not prepared for them to tease her relentlessly about the whole kissing thing though. 

Amity stands up and picks up the tray, surprised to see it empty. She didn't even realize so much time passed. After she's finished cleaning up she walks up to the tank and addresses the mermaid again. 

"Okay, so…" She trails off as she realizes that she doesn't even know the mermaid's name. Seriously, she sucks at this. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Luz, Luz Noceda." It says with a pleasant smile.

Amity nods, "Okay, Luz, tomorrow I'll bring you some oranges, and a few other things for you to try."

Honestly, she doesn't know why exactly she offered to do this. She can blame it on loneliness all she wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that over the last two days she’s grown to see the mermaid more than just a creature her parents captured. Hearing the mermaid talk about family and friends, even if vaguely and in passing makes it seem less like an enigma, less mysterious. Even seeing it look so delighted when sharing the story of its first time eating an orange changes things. 

Amity doesn’t care on a very personal level, but a development is happening. It was probably inevitable. She’s confident that as long as her parents are unaware everything will be fine. Probably.

“Alright, my brother and sister will probably come down soon, and stay to feed you dinner,” And Amity doesn’t really want to be there for that, but she doesn’t say that out loud, “And I have some work to do, so, I’ll be leaving now.” 

“See you later, Amity,” Luz says cheerfully.

Amity gives the mermaid one last glance before typing in the pin for the door and walking out. “Bye, Luz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn this chapter practically wrote itself


	5. Chapter 5

“Why’d you bring the fish?” Luz asks Amity. The mermaid is visibly excited, its- her, stop being so damn speciesist, Amity- tail waving in the water rapidly. She has a massive grin on her face and the sheer joy radiating off her makes Amity’s insides squirm. No one has ever looked so happy to see her...which is very sad to admit.

Amity sits down on the platform and positions her legs in a basket after placing the tray to the side, “I don’t think a few oranges counts as a meal,” She replies. Luz’s eyes shine brighter when Amity places her tote bag in front of them and pulls out an orange. Having wealthy parents means that she can afford to buy higher quality things, and she hopes the organic oranges will please the mermaid. "Ta-da. An orange."

Luz's smile widens as she takes the orange. "Thanks, Amity!" 

Amity smiles back and nods. When Luz sinks her sharp teeth into the fruit, easily biting into it, Amity flinches and stares in disbelief. “Wh- you’re not mean to it with the skin on!” She really should’ve peeled it before handing it over. 

The blissful expression on Luz's face immediately changes to a worried one, "Really? I didn't know that!" She exclaims after swallowing, staring at the orange in her hand as if it grew a pair of legs.

"Well, you can eat it, but it doesn't taste very good…" Amity takes another orange out from the bag and digs her finger into the fruit's thick skin while Luz watches in rapt attention. She piles the rinds in the space where her skirt has stretched over her legs and hands a segment to Luz once it's fully peeled. 

The mermaid puts the piece in her mouth and nods thoughtfully while chewing, "It's nice, but I actually like the skin a lot," She takes another bite of the orange she's holding, skin and all. 

"Suit yourself," Amity shrugs even though her tongue is cringing from just imagining the bitter taste of the peel. She notices thin streams of the fruit's sticky juice running down Luz’s chin and grimaces at the thought of the juice getting in the water, even if it’s just a little and will be filtered out soon. ”Another reason you’re meant to peel the skin; it's less messy.”

Luz flushes and smiles shyly, “Haha, sorry,” She swipes a hand across her chin, doing nothing but smearing the juice around. The endearing action makes Amity chuckle in amusement, and she watches as Luz digs her pointy nails into the fruit and takes a wad of flesh off the orange before putting it in her mouth and chewing happily. A fond feeling fills Amity. She's never hung out with someone like this. Anything in school that involved groups ended up in Amity doing all the work herself, leaving her to never really communicate with her group mates, and she never really put any effort into befriending her peers. Even during her time in her sports club she was independent and minded her own business, the stilted relationship between her and her team ending up being the reason she quit.

While she continues to eat her orange she glances at Luz, who has finished her own. Her face is bright red and tail is twitching and fidgeting in the water. "You, uh- you doing okay Luz?" She’s clearly going through a sugar rush from the orange.

Luz hums in response, "Mhm. I really enjoyed that, I've never tasted anything like it ever." She sighs blissfully.

“They’re sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Uhuh, they taste sweet because they have sugar in them.” Amity explains. 

“Sugar?”

“Yup.” 

“Well, I love it!”

“Yeah, I, uh- I can tell.” The red blush still staining Luz’s round cheeks and the flutter of her tail made that obvious. 

With all the monotony and misery in her life, Amity finds Luz’s curiosity and wonder at such a simple thing like oranges refreshing and kind of- cute. And isn’t that a loaded thought. She’s also slightly envious at how Luz somehow managed to find some joy from her bleak situation. Being trapped in a tank down in some shady basement and imprisoned by greedy humans would drive Amity absolutely insane, and would probably have her fall into a deep depression, so how Luz is still grinning is pretty incredible. It’s just another reason why Amity should be careful with what she tells her parents. Putting Luz in even more danger is the last thing she wants. 

“Hey, old are you?” Amity asks, taking note of Luz’s small frame (minus the massive tail) and youthful face. She always thought the mermaid was around Amity’s age, but she wants to confirm it. 

“How old? Hmm, I was hatched in the winter, and have counted fourteen winters since then.”

“So, you’re fourteen years old?” Luz nods in agreement. “We’re about the same age then.”

“You were hatched fourteen winters ago, too?”

“Uhh, well, I was born, in the summer. Not hatched.” 

Luz tilts her head to the side in question, “You weren’t?”

“Nope, we humans- or just mammals in general, with a few exceptions, stay in the womb until it’s time to come out, and when we do we’re already babies.”

“Oh, so kind of like whales!”

Amity finishes the last piece of her orange, savouring the sweet and tangy flavour. “Yeah, sure,” She says. “Just like whales.” 

“What about Emira and Edric?”

“They were born in autumn sixteen years ago. They were born at the same time, making them twins.” 

“Woah...twins? Is that why they look alike?” 

“Not all twins look alike, but yeah, Ed and Em do,” Amity can feel this discussion is heading in a direction that involves her explaining the human baby making process in more detail, and she really doesn’t want to do that, so she changes the topic. Fishing through her tote bag, she pulls out a container full of strawberries and presents them to Luz. “You’ve never tried strawberries before, have you?”

“No, never.” Luz says in awe, staring at the berries with wide eyes. 

Amity places the tub in front of Luz, encouraging her to help herself. “Well, knock yourself out,” She says. “Just make sure you don’t have too many, or your stomach might get upset.” Too much foreign food might make the mermaid ill, so she’ll have to take it slow.

Nodding in understandment, Luz plucks a strawberry out from the container and hesitantly pops it in her mouth. As she bites into the fruit a bright, sweet flavour hits her tongue. “It tastes...different from the orange,” She voices her observations. “It's sweet, but a different kind of sweet, you know?”

“Oranges are tangier and tart, while strawberries have a more mellow acidity,” Amity tries a strawberry herself and is pleased at the quality. Strawberries are her favorite fruit, so she hopes Luz enjoys them too. 

“Huh. Do these ones grow on trees too?” 

“Strawberries grow on bushes, but there's other fruit from the same family that do grow on trees.” 

"Family?" 

"Yeah, we categorize food into families. Technically a lot of the 'berries' aren't actually berries, but no one really cares," Amity shrugs. People can call bananas a berry all they want, Amity will never take their word seriously. 

Luz hums thoughtfully and eats another strawberry. “I dunno if I prefer the oranges or strawberries. They’re both so unique!” She exclaims joyfully. “There’s a bunch of different fish and plants to eat back home, but nothing like this.”

“You don’t buy food?”

“Buy? Why would I do that?”

“Uhhh…”

“Food is usually hunted and harvested, and dispersed throughout the village. We trade things, but not food.” She continues to happily eat before Amity takes the box back while she’s on her sixth strawberry, making her pout. 

“Don’t want you to throw up or anything,” She explains while tucking the tub back in her bag. The dejected look on Luz’s face makes her falter a bit, though she can tell by the exaggerated puppy eyes that Luz is purposely playing it up. “Hey, next time i’ll bring you new things to try, alright? You don't need to look so sad.”

“Yeah, okay.” Luz giggles softly. 

Just as Amity stands up and starts to clear up the discarded orange peels, Luz sighs heavily and sits her head in her crossed arms, which are resting on the platform. "I wish my friends and parents could try all this stuff out, too.”

Amity shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably, unsure how to respond. Every time she gets reminded that Luz has family and friends waiting for her in the ocean, probably worried out of their minds at Luz’s absence, nausea settles in her gut. Comforting people when they’re upset is something Amity fails miserably at, so she opts to just stay silent, as to not make the mermaid's homesickness even worse. 

Like flipping a switch, Luz’s somber mood suddenly changes to a much more gleeful one, “Thanks for bringing me oranges, and letting me try strawberries for the first time, Amity. I really appreciate it.” She says warmly. Flushing pink at how genuine Luz sounds, Amity clears her throat awkwardly and shrugs stiffly. 

“It-it’s really no problem,” She straightens up and pats her skirt and legs off, shaking away any dust clinging onto her. “You should eat your fish,” Amity suggests and brings the tray closer, “Unless you’re actually full?” Luz shakes her head and takes the tray, and begins eating the strips of fish.

“Will you stay here until i've finished?” Luz asks when the peels have been chucked in the bin, leaving Amity with nothing else to do. The question surprises her. She always stays until Luz has finished eating and waits until she can wash the tray and put everything away, it’s routine at this point. The silence during those times was beyond uncomfortable, and Amity is fairly sure the mermaid felt the exact same way, but it was always over quick. “It- it’s just that I really enjoyed your company, and i’m not ready to be alone just yet- so.”

Truthfully, Amity really enjoyed herself too. All they did was eat fruit and talk about each other's species a tiny bit, but it was still...fun. “Yeah, i’ll stay,” She walks up the stairs and sits back on the platform, watching as Luz perks up happily. “And, uhm, I liked being with you too, by the way.” 

“I’m glad. I really thought you hated my guts.” She admits. Amity winces and everts her eyes.

“Sorry- I never hated you, just,” There’s no way to explain her behaviour without offending Luz, and she tries to be as delicate as possible. “I never wanted to be involved because of my parents. You’ve met them, you know how crazy they are.”

“I get it,” Luz visibility cringes, “yeah, your parents are- haha…” The laugh is forced and awkward. Alador and Odalia have already hurt Luz so much and talking about them now doesn’t seem like too good an idea, but before Amity can change the subject Luz starts speaking again. “You asked your dad about my necklace, right?”

No, she did not. But Amity wasn’t about to admit that. “Yeah, yep, I did. He, uh, said that he didn’t want to give it back… and didn’t tell me where it is, so, yeah. Sorry about that.” Lying to Luz is a lot different than lying to her parents. With them she doesn’t feel any guilt or remorse, but with Luz it actually feels wrong. Luckily, the mermaid doesn’t suspect anything. 

Luz rakes a hand down her face in frustration. “Typical, I don’t know what I expected,” She continues to eat her dinner, though her good mood has dampened a bit. “Thanks, for asking, though.”

“You’re welcome, Luz.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this kinda sucks but I really wanted mermaid Luz and a wise person once told me if you want something done you do it yourself...so. 
> 
> Gimme constructive criticism though!


End file.
